1 The Story of Mughīth and Barīrah ((

The Story of Mughīth and Barīrah ((

By Abū al-Ḥasan Mālik al-Akhḍar

HEN THE COMPANION Barīrah mawlāt ʿA’ishah )(was freed from servitude, she was
given the choice to remain with her husband Mughīth )(, who was still in
bondage, or to separate from him. She chose to separate. Afterward, the noble Saḥābī
ʿAbd Allah b. ʿAbbās )( reported that he saw Mughīth walking around behind Barīrah in the
streets of al-Madīnah crying, the tears streaming into his beard, wetting his cheeks. He strove to
convince her to return to him, but she refused.1 The Prophet’s uncle ʿAbbās )( then asked
Allah’s Messenger () to speak to Barīrah on behalf of Mughīth. Witnessing this, the
Prophet () said, “O ʿAbbās, are you not amazed at Mughīth’s love for Barīrah, and her
dislike for him?” The Prophet () then went to Barīrah and said, “Will you take him back?
For he is the father of your child.”2
“Are you commanding me to do so, O Messenger of Allah?” said Barīrah.
“I am merely interceding on his behalf,” he said.
“I have no need of him,” she said.3
This account of unrequited love during the time of Revelation contains profound lessons.
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah )( cites this narration as evidence that love is truly an affair of the
heart. He states, “The Messenger of Allah did not prohibit [Mughīth] from loving [Barīrah] under
these circumstances4, as this was something out of his control, and not a matter of choice.”5 This
is the reason he did not admonish him for expressing the pain of losing his beloved wife.
Yet, this astonished the Prophet (), as seen in the statement to his uncle: “O ʿAbbās,
are you not amazed at Mughīth’s love for Barīrah, and her dislike for him?” Regarding this, the
author of Mirqāh al-Mafātīḥ explains that his amazement was due to “[Mughīth’s] great love for
her,” because “in most cases, the one who loves is loved in return.”6 Similarly, al-Sindī mentions
that this contradicts the norm, as love is oft-times mutual.”7 

1
Ibn Ḥajr, Aḥmad, Fatḥ al-Bārī vol. 9 (Beirut: Dar al-Maʾrifah, 1379 AH), 409.
2
See Sunan Ibn Majah (no. 2075); this narration is authenticated by Imām al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Majah (no. 1688).
3
See Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (no. 4979)
4
Ibn Qayyim states, “If this love is the result of what is permissible, then the person is not blameworthy, like the
one who loves his wife or jāriyah then separates from her, but love for her remains; he is not chided for this, as
has preceded in the story of Barīrah and Mughīth.” See Rawḍah al-Muḥibbīn (p. 147).
5
Ibn al-Qayyim, Muḥammad, Rawḍah al-Muḥibbīn (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1403 AH), 143.
6
Al-Qārī, ʿAli, Mirqāh al-Mafātīḥ vol. 5 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1422 AH), 2096.
7
ʿAbd al-Hādī, Muḥammad Ḥāshiyah al-Sindī vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr), 640.
2 The Story of Mughīth and Barīrah ((

In addition, we see the Prophet’s () concern for his Companions, interceding on behalf
of Mughīth. Ibn al-Qayyim states:

This intercession is from the leader of those who intercede, on behalf of one who
was in love; and this is from the best kinds of intercession and the greatest in reward
with Allah, for it includes joining two people together upon what Allah and His
Messenger love. Consequently, what is most beloved to Iblīs and his troops is to
separate between these two loved ones.8
The last statement of Ibn al-Qayyim alludes to the narration collected by Imām Muslim in his
Ṣaḥīḥ, in which Iblīs, whose throne is over the waters, deploys his troops among mankind,
bringing the one who creates the most dissension nearest to him. The first of them returns and
says, “I did not leave so-and-so until he said such and such,” but Iblīs says to him, “You have not
done a thing.” Then another returns and says, “I did not leave him until I was able to separate him
from his wife.” So Iblīs brings him close to him and says, “You are the best.” 9 So, just as the one
who strives to separate two loving spouses treads a Satanic path, the one who intercedes on their
behalf, to strengthen their bond and increase their love, is from the best of those who intercede.
Moreover, the one who intervenes should point to what he or she thinks will be most persuasive,
as the Messenger of Allah said to Barīrah, “Will you take him back? For he is the father of your
child.”
Finally, this narration exemplifies the devoutness of the Companions and their readiness
to hear and obey. For when the Prophet () asked Barīrah if she would take back Mughīth,
she immediately asked if this was a command. Once she learned that the Messenger of Allah
() was only interceding and that the choice was hers, she declined; so firm in her decision,
she states, as found in another wording, she would not stay with him “even if he was to give me
such and such.”10
The story of Mughīth and Barīrah is a moving account of love-lost; one that exemplifies
the Prophet's () great care and compassion. He did not rebuke his Companion for
displaying his pain; instead, he attempted to intercede on his behalf. And although Barīrah had no
desire to return to her former husband, she demonstrated devout obedience to Allah and His
Messenger (). Hence, this story teaches us sympathy for the feelings of others, as well as
readiness to hear and obey our Lord’s Command.

8
Ibn al-Qayyim, Muḥammad, Rawḍah al-Muḥibbīn (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1403 AH), 377.
9
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (no. 2813)
10
Ibn Ḥajr, Aḥmad, Fatḥ al-Bārī vol. 9 (Beirut: Dar al-Maʾrifah, 1379 AH), 409.